1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a technique relating to determining prices at which expendables are supplied, assuming that the expendable containers are to be recycled.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent years have seen widespread adoption of ink-jet printers and laser printers as computer output devices. Expendables such as inkjet printer ink and laser printer toner are typically provided in the form of ink cartridges and toner cartridges. There has also been rising concern regarding efficient use of resources through reuse and recycling, and manufacturers of ink cartridges and the like are promoting refilling.
On the user side, however, the incentive to recycle expendable containers is not always significant, which creates a problem in terms of recovering expendable containers. Given the current state of affairs, expendable container reuse cannot be said to reach full potential.